Investigating the effect of biosynthetic nano-silver on HDAC8 expression in lung cancer A549 cell line

Currently nanoparticles have encouraged a broad range of investigations in cancer therapy and diagnosis. The gene HDAC8 is responsible for repression of transcription in cells and it has been shown that its expression increases in lung cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nanoparticles synthesized by the eucalyptus extract on the expression of the HDAC8 gene in lung cancer A549 cell line. In this experimental study, green synthesis of silver nanoparticles was performed using the extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis. In order to evaluate the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), cultured A549 cells were treated by different concentrations of synthesized nanoparticles and the MTT assay was performed. Finally, the HDAC8 expression change of cells treated with the half maximal inhibitory concentration was determined by real-time PCR. Results from the MTT assay revealed that the obtained nanoparticles decreased the viability of cells in concentration-dependent manner. The IC50 value of silver nanoparticles in 24 hours against A549 cells was 2 μg/ml. Also, the HDAC8 expression showed a 9-fold decrease in the treated cells. According to the results, nano-silver particles produced by the eucalyptus extract can cause apoptosis by decreasing the HDAC8 expression. Hence, they can be considered as an agent with promising aspects to treat lung cancer